unfair to Roxanne
by Anrheithwyr
Summary: Lee Jordan happens to stop by his friend's shop one night, only to see his sixteen year old daughter, Roxanne, managing the place instead.


"_I will find her somewhere safe,  
House or home a resting place.  
Give the love she needs from me  
our hearts entwined for eternity._

_You better catch me out of here.  
Because I can't stay anymore,  
Stay anymore."_

_-The Darling Buds, "Cities Alive"_

….

Lee had put a crown of gold on a young girl's head, and now he didn't know what to do. A married man with two children both older than this woman who was barely not a child, he tried to keep away from the little beauty that had been named Roxanne Weasley.

She was earthy and quiet, the younger child of one of Lee's best mates, and at first, Lee had barely even noticed she existed, since, as a little girl, Roxanne barely ever talked when Lee visited, and it didn't occur to him that the shy child would one day change his life.

A brother of Angelina's had been named godfather, and so, between the day of Roxanne's birth and the twelve years that passed until her brother's death, Lee Jordan saw George's daughter maybe four times in his life, all at times when there were other people clamouring for his attention.

The very next time he saw her was four years later, when the girl was sixteen, when he happened to stop by the joke shop one of the times she was attending the cash box as a means of earning a few galleons here or there over the summer.

Roxanne had gotten taller than he remembered, with long, curly hair and big brown eyes that reminded Lee of Roxanne's mother, Angelina. She barely even noticed when he stepped into the store, instead focusing on some younger customers, two kids arguing over a joke key that didn't fit in any lock known to the world, but could still unlock them most.

(Lee had seen that one before and knew the key was just stick-charmed with an _Alohomora_, but it seemed to be a popular seller anyway, with various makes and models being sold at the Weasley's Wizard Wheeze's, and demands for new styles of keys coming in every six months or so.)

Lee made his way up to the check-out area, leaning on the counter while Roxanne conversed with the other customers while he stood there, wondering if Roxanne would remember him; Lee had only known it was George and Angelina's daughter that he was looking at because of her eyes. Surely she would not remember an old family friend?

Finally, once the flow of customers had slowed down considerably, Lee leaned over the counter to give Roxanne a friendly smile, waving to get her attention.

"Oh! Mr. Jordan, right? You're a friend of my dad's, aren't you?" she asked, and Lee nodded, watching her continue to tidy up the counter area, straightening boxes and dusting off a few of the products, letting him stand there and hum while she quickly ran through inventory.

"Are you looking for my dad, or what? Is it Mum you want? Because they're on their anniversary trip or whatever, even though their anniversary isn't even until November, you know? Mum says it's for time's sake, but what do I care? I'm still the one running the shop aren't I, and they're where, in Argentina or Brazil or somewhere, having fun without me?"

"Oh…" Lee trailed off, wondering if he ought to admit the truth, which was that he had actually stopped by to catch a glimpse of her, because one of his co-workers had been talking about "George Weasley's girl", stating that she was by herself for a month.

And Lee had immediately been worried that something might happen to her, because even at sixteen, Roxanne couldn't possibly protect herself against attackers, and if something happened to her, George and Angelina would be devastated.

But how was he supposed to tell her all that in a way that didn't seem creepy and even possibly a little stalkerish, like he didn't believe in her ability to defend herself, when all he really was doing was looking out for the young girl.

How was he supposed to tell her that George had taken Lee aside right before they left, explaining that he would feel a bit safer if someone were to stop by every now and then and make sure that Roxanne was okay, and that the store was okay?

He finally settled for sheepishly mumbling, "Your dad sent me," and blushed when she let out a frustrated groan, slamming the register shut and grumbling under her breath, something about "he never _fucking trusts me," _before finally looking up at Lee again.

"Want to go for a bagel or something, Mr. Jordan? I mean, if Dad really sent you to baby-sit me, then we might as well go have some dinner, yeah? Besides, I'm _starving_, and there is no way in hell that I am going to burn the place down trying to figure out how to boil macaroni." She didn't even wait for an answer, grabbing him by the wrist and dragging him out of the store, down the nearly empty streets of Diagon Alley.

It was nearing six o'clock now, with many of the stores closing, but Roxanne explained that there was a little café near the shop that didn't close until ten and she told him a quickly spoken story about going in one time with an ex-boyfriend of hers who had spilt soup all over himself and then proceeded to upset the tea, causing a mess.

Lee wasn't sure why, but something seemed to burn angrily inside him when she mentioned the ex-boyfriend, something that made him feel mad and willing to punch this guy, a feeling that was, of course, ridiculous, because this was not his daughter nor his girlfriend nor anyone other than his friend's daughter, so he oughtn't to be having thoughts or feelings such as this.

Over dinner, Lee let Roxanne talk, listening as she chatted about school and grades and Quidditch; she discussed friends whose names Lee had no idea of and the store and her parents and just anything she could seem to think of.

She talked about it all, and Lee listened, until finally Roxanne stopped to take a breath, sipping at her glass of water and looking back up at Lee with something just short of total astonishment, taking in his relaxed posture and the mostly untouched trout on her plate.

"Have you just been listening to me drone on and on this entire time, Mr. Jordan? I'm only sixteen, what I'm saying can't interest you _that _much. Merlin's beard, have I bored you will all my silly talk?" She blushed, tucking her head down as she continued to sip at her water.

"Not at all, Roxanne. I enjoy listening to you, actually. Some might say I have a special gift for listening to people talk, no matter what the discussion or how long it has been going on. I don't mind if you keep talking, it doesn't bother me at all."

"Are you trying to impress me?" she asked, laughing in a way that didn't seem to be an insult, but rather enjoying the little show that Lee was putting on for her. "Because if that's what you're trying to do, Mr. Jordan, it's _not _working, trust me."

Lee didn't like the way she called him Mr. Jordan, because it reminded him that she was thirty years younger than he was, as well as being his best mate's daughter; he appreciated that she called him Mr. Jordan and reminded him that she was thirty years his junior and that she was his best mate's daughter, and besides that, he was married.

Roxanne never tried to flirt with him, never tried to kiss him or tease him or act like he was anything more than a nice man to hang around, and every second that Lee spent in her presence made him feel worse, because all he wanted was for her _to _kiss him and tease him and drag him into bed with her.

That made him an awful person, didn't it? He was a terrible, awful excuse for a human being, and if he had any more will power, he would have left Roxanne alone and apologised for his inappropriate behaviour; but because he was intoxicated by the innocence of this pretty young girl, he stayed around, fully aware it was wrong.

And at that moment, Lee knew he had to leave, had to get out of the situation, to protect himself, but also to protect this girl who was doing nothing but be herself; Lee had to remove himself from an inappropriate situation, and so he got to his feet, tossing a few galleons onto the table.

"Let me walk you home," he said, wishing she would say no, that she could take care of herself, and that was exactly what Roxanne did, insisting that he didn't need to accompany her or baby-sit her, because she was almost seventeen now, and she didn't need anyone's protection just to walk a few metres.

So Lee left, knowing that the feelings he had, the ones that bubbled under the surface, for this sixteen year old girl were inappropriate, because he was married, and she was the daughter of his friend, and most importantly, she was still underage.

Lee walked out from the restaurant knowing that he could not see Roxanne again until he got these emotions under control and forced himself to see the full reality of how inappropriate the situation was, trying to emotionally violate a young girl.

He was mostly glad that nothing had happened, that Roxanne had not responded in the same manner as Lee was, because he did not want to end up as just another story of a young girl shacking up with an older man.

And so, he walked away from the situation, angry with himself for even considering kissing or touching or loving this girl in any way might have ever been anything other than _wrong._ Because it would never be _not wrong_, and to think otherwise would only be unfair to Roxanne herself.

He didn't want to violate Roxanne Weasley in any way; as a child, as a woman, and as a person, she deserved so much more than that.


End file.
